Ursa Designs Clikstand-S 1 (Complete Stove Set)
Long Term Report by André Corterier

Personal Biographical Information:
Name: André Corterier
Age: 32
Gender: M
Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight: 80 kg (175 lb)
Email: andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
Home: Bonn, Germany
DATE: 2005-01-11

Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking in my late teens using Europe’s "InterRail"-System – weight hardly mattered, as we were on trains a lot. I usually traveled through southern Europe during summer, for about three weeks at a time, moving from campsites (often without tent) to youth hostels etc. I recently rediscovered backpacking and have started out slowly – single-day 15 mile (24 km) jaunts by myself or even shorter hikes (pushing a stroller uphill through the woods). I am getting started on longer hikes, as a lightweight packer. My gear is either old or really new – nothing in between.

ITEM: Clikstand S-1
Year of manufacture: 2004
Manufacturer: Ursa Designs
URL: http://www.clikstand.com/
MSRP: 51.95 $ US for Clikstand, windscreen and burner
MSRP: 42.95 $ US for Clikstand and windscreen

Weight Comparisons - scale accurate to 5 g (0.2 oz)
Clikstand listed weight: 91 g (3.2 oz)
Clikstand measured weight: 95 g (3.4 oz)
Windscreen listed weight: 32 g (1.1 oz)
Windscreen measured weight: 30 g (1 oz)
Stove (by Trangia) listed weight: 67 g (2.4 oz)
Stove (by Trangia) measured weight: 110 g (3.9 oz) (incl. cap w/ O-ring, simmer ring and extinguisher)
0.9 l Titanium Pot / Lid (by Evernew) listed weight: none given
0.9 l Titanium Pot / Lid (by Evernew) measured weight: 100 g / 40 g (3.5 oz / 1.4 oz)

Field experience:
Mostly dayhiking (and on the balcony a few times), and a four day trip in late fall. Temps varied from around 0 to 15 C (30 to 60 F), altitude from sea level to a few hundred meters (call it a thousand feet) above sea level. Mostly low humidity in somewhat hilly terrain, once barely sheltered from driving rain.

Description:
The Clikstand consists of four flattish pieces of metal with a number of holes punched into them, pre-bent at the edges. Little tabs on the ends of three of these pieces fit into slots on the others, so that three of them fit together to form a triangular wall. The fourth, with a large hole in the middle, fits inside these as a bottom, providing the structure with a certain amount of rigidity. The trangia alcohol burner fits into this hole without touching the ground. The holes punched into the sides of the Clikstand allow air to flow towards the burner. The sidewalls each feature an upright with "teeth" on it which hold up the pot. Little tabs on the ends of the walls hold up the windscreen. The windscreen is a flattish piece of reflective metal I can store rolled up into the pot, the width of which is equal to the height of the pot's sidewalls. It is bent around on both ends, so that these fit into one another. Sitting on the tabs allows air to flow underneath the windscreen and allows it to cover the space between the top of the burner and the bottom of the pot. You may wish to look at the very good illustration at the manufacturer's website (link above). For a more detailed analysis of the setup, see my Initial Report.


I have discussed the various features of the Clikstand in some detail in my Field Report. Here, I will only address additional issues I have noticed since then.


The Clikstand:
It has remained easy to find a suitable locale to place the Clikstand. Particularly on a sandy beach next to a little river where I was camping with a group, all I needed to do was turn the Clikstand 360 degrees once while it was placed on the ground and I had an instant level spot to cook on (although that required picking it up and putting it down again, as the Clikstand had sunk into the ground to a degree which pushed the Trangia burner up off its supports).
The Clikstand continues to fit together in a matter of seconds and to provide a stable, easily levelled cooking platform. I have not noticed additional flex over time so my reservations regarding the long term stability of the rather small tabs used to fit it together have been assuaged. The uprights of the Clikstand are now blackened with soot, other than that it still looks like new (although the soot stains really make it look anything *but* new).

The Windscreen:
I've been able to use the pot in somewhat heavier winds on a rainy day where my shelter didn't keep out as much of the wind as I would have liked. Once I had the burner lit (a problematic task under the circumstances, addressed below), the windscreen reliably screened the burner from the wind. As I've had issues with unprotected gas burners hardly warming the pot under similar circumstances without a dedicated windscreen, I was very happy with this. Once, I carried the windscreen home thrown into my backpack with other gear because I did not have enough water to properly clean the pot after my meal. I am happy to report that it took this abuse without becoming worse for the wear.

The Pot:
I am still happy with it, again, except for the fact that I cannot use it over an open fire. I've had the advantage to be able to cook at an established campground (before moving on with and into my hammock) where cooking over an open wood fire would have been a possibility. It seemed a little silly to be lighting up an alcohol stove while sitting next to a burning fire. I am not so sure about the non-stick coating. While I've had no issues with food sticking to the pot when I was around to stir every so often, this doesn't seem like anything special to me. As long as I stir regularly, things don't stick to my uncoated steel pot, either. When I once left the pot (set to simmer with the simmer ring on) to go for a quick swim and the person whom I asked to stir occasionally forgot to do so, I had a large clump of burnt pasta stuck to the bottom. I was absent for about seven minutes. I was unable to completely remove this burnt clump even with vigorous scrubbing (with non-abrasive tools). It's been through two intensive cycles in my dishwasher since, but - while the coating does not appear damaged - black spots remain. I'll admit that preventing food from sticking to the pot with this kind of abuse would be asking a lot, so I'm not bummed about the fact that it didn't.

The Burner:
I must amend the statement I made about the fuel retention ability of the burner in my Field Report. Having left the burner, about halfway filled, for nearly three months (due to a serious shortage of hiking possibilities where cooking was required) inside the cook set, I discovered that nearly all of the fuel had evaporated (the container walls were still wet, but I couldn't shake a drop out of it). So for me, leaving the fuel in the burner isn't an option for my bug-out bag. Yes, I am absolutely positive that the burner was halfway filled when I stored it. Having been asked about this, I cannot entirely rule out the possibility that the cover may have been misaligned. Finding out whether this is true will take some time, though. Transporting the fuel in the burner remains an excellent option when I top off the burner before I leave.
I have tried out the simmer ring and it appears to work well. I am hesitant to say more - I haven't cooked elaborate meals with it. All I can say is that it was surprising how far I could close the simmer ring and still keep my pasta boiling once it had reached a boil. I assume this helps me to preserve a good bit of fuel, so the simmer ring remains a part of the set that I carry.
Lighting the burner has been quite an issue under windy conditions. While the uprights of the Clikstand make it a bit difficult to light the burner when it's sitting in it, having the windscreen around it as well prevented me entirely from doing so with a lighter (my supposedly storm-proof lighter wasn't, so I needed the protection of the windscreen to get it lit at all). (And of course, I don't want to light the burner outside of the Clikstand, because the uprights of the Clikstand would prevent me from placing the lit burner in it even if I cared to handle the lit burner with my hands - which I don't). I used a storm match from my survival pouch instead, which did the trick just fine. I have just now read a fellow tester's report in which she used a fallen leaf, dipped into the fuel, as a fire starter, and may emulate her in the future. I have found that the burner generally lights better when the top rim of it has some fuel on it. To accomplish this, I tip the burner carefully sideways, until the fuel overflows from the inside and return it to upright before fuel drips down. I have then - at least sheltered from wind - found it comparatively easy to light even inside the Clikstand.

Overall:
I've had the advantage of using this cook set in a large group camp-out where other burners and cook sets were utilized. These were mostly the usual gas canister stoves screwed directly onto a canister or placed next to it and connected with a hose/valve contraption, as well as an old folding Esbit stove issued by the (German) army. My entire set (Clikstand and stove folded into the pot) was generally much less bulky and heavy than everybody else's (except for the folding Esbit stove). Generally, I had my setup set up faster, too, but had boiling water a little after everyone else (again, in both instances, except for the Esbit stove). As the time spent waiting for the water to boil is time I can utilize doing other things, while setup time is spent doing nothing else, I feel that I came out ahead in this comparison, as well. Not everybody saw it that way, as the occasional smirk from people stirring food before my water had begun boiling showed. I think they were just jealous.
Concerning the Esbit stove, I felt that the Clikstand, at hardly more weight, provides much better stability and an excellent windscreen to go with it.


Summary:
I'm not going back to my old burner (Esbit or gas). This cookset has worked beautifully, and it's light. I particularly like the self-contained package it all folds into (I may have to shorten my spork, it - just - juts out the pot, preventing the lid from closing completely). Little bulk is always nice and having everything together reduces the hassle associated with cooking.